Deputy Has Surgery After Head-On Collision

Wednesday

Dec 5, 2012 at 10:33 AMDec 5, 2012 at 11:22 AM

AUBURNDALE | A Polk County Sheriff's Office patrol car was struck head-on by a Lakeland woman driving on a suspended license Tuesday night, critically injuring her and causing the deputy driving the patrol car to undergo surgery for a broken bone, the Sheriff's Office said.

By CLIFFORD PARODYTHE LEDGER

AUBURNDALE | A Polk County Sheriff's Office patrol car was struck head-on by a Lakeland woman driving on a suspended license Tuesday night, critically injuring her and causing the deputy driving the patrol car to undergo surgery for a broken bone, the Sheriff's Office said.

Deputies said Julie McTeer, 22, was heading north along Old Dixie Highway near Evergreen Street in her 1992 Toyota Camry about 6:50 p.m. when, for unknown reasons, she drifted onto the right shoulder.

She over-corrected and veered back onto the roadway, crossing into the southbound lane, where she struck the marked PCSO Chevrolet Impala, according to a sheriff's office report.

The driver, Deputy Robert McPherson, 35, had just left a call for service in the area.

The collision caused both cars to rotate and come to a rest on or near the southbound lane, the report said.

Both drivers had to be extricated from their cars, the report said.

Deputies said McTeer, who was not wearing a seat belt, was taken by ambulance to Lakeland Regional Medical Center, where she was admitted in critical but stable condition.

McPherson, who joined the sheriff's office in 1998, also was taken to Lakeland Regional, where he underwent surgery for a broken bone. Officials say he is in stable condition.

He was wearing a seat belt when the crash occurred.

McTeer's license was suspended in October for unpaid fines, She also had been arrested in 2009 for driving on a suspended license.

Preliminary information indicates that McTeer was impaired at the time of Tuesday's crash, deputies said.

A sample of her blood has been sent to the Florida Department of Law Enforcement for analysis.

The investigation is ongoing and charges are pending, investigators said.

[ Clifford Parody can be reached at clifford.parody@theledger.com or 863-802-7516. ]